Finance Minister Koriki Jojima and his South Korean counterpart agreed to work together more closely for the sake of the shaky global economy as Tokyo and Seoul look to repair bilateral ties frayed by an island dispute, government officials said.

At a meeting Saturday, Jojima and South Korean Strategy and Finance Minister Bahk Jae Wan shared their sense of crisis over the global economy and noted the risk of it slowing down further over the eurozone's protracted fiscal crisis and the threat of the U.S. falling off its "fiscal cliff" in January, officials said.

Jojima and Bahk confirmed the two countries will boost cooperation in a wide range of areas — including finance, energy and the environment — to bolster the global economy, the officials said.